ERIC Number: EJ1178424
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-May
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Creating a Recollection-Based Memory through Drawing
Wammes, Jeffrey D.; Meade, Melissa E.; Fernandes, Myra A.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v44 n5 p734-751 May 2018
Drawing a picture of to-be-remembered information substantially boosts memory performance in free-recall tasks. In the current work, we sought to test the notion that drawing confers its benefit to memory performance by creating a detailed recollection of the encoding context. In Experiments 1 and 2, we demonstrated that for both pictures and words, items that were drawn by the participant at encoding were better recognized in a later test than were words that were written out. Moreover, participants' source memory (in this experiment, correct identification of whether the word was drawn or written) was superior for items drawn relative to written at encoding. In Experiments 3A and 3B, we used a remember-know paradigm to demonstrate again that drawn words were better recognized than written words, and further showed that this effect was driven by a greater proportion of recollection-, rather than familiarity-based responses. Lastly, in Experiment 4 we implemented a response deadline procedure, and showed that when recognition responses were speeded, thereby reducing participants' capacity for recollection, the benefit of drawing was substantially smaller. Taken together, our findings converge on the idea that drawing improves memory as a result of providing vivid contextual information which can be later called upon to aid retrieval.
Descriptors: Freehand Drawing, Recall (Psychology), Memory, Cognitive Processes, Undergraduate Students, Foreign Countries, Familiarity, Recognition (Psychology), Context Effect, Multiple Regression Analysis, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A